This Thanksgiving the attendees just kept climbing, the decision was made to move the festivities to the local church and it turned out to be very wise. We realized the kids needed some activities too so we spent some time in the days prior finding coloring pages, getting bingo prizes, and making play dough. This turned out to be a good effort as the kids had a great time playing without too much adult intervention. This also kept them busy while finishing touches were being put on dinner.
The older girls decided to tie some fleece blankets. a nice ice breaker for them as busy hands allow for freer conversation.
The moms and some of the dads kept their hands busy in the kitchen. Feeding 80 people is a tall order but they did a magnificent job!
Uncle Don brought some additional games.
The older boys and uncles played football outside.
Almost ready to eat. We added ham roll-ups to the feast. They are a tradition from my side we only have at thanksgiving and Christmas I love them, some of my kids do and some don't. But last-minute I sent Anna, John, and Aliza to the store to get ham and pickles so we could have them at our feast. My cousin showed up as we were getting ready to leave with the corn centerpiece and we figured there was no better time to use it than Thanksgiving day.
The best part of the church was room for everyone to sit and eat at their own pace. It was pretty awesome to see the gym so full. Yes, we know each one of these people by name and family. People are often shocked at this but really each is a unique individual with a unique look to them depending on their parentage. It's fun that so many of the kids match up with a cousin or three close to the same age as them.
The young men's table.
The young women's table.
Playing with the parachute another activity thanks to Uncle Don.
We finally got to bingo after dinner and clean up.
Then the traditional basketball game of Bump began in earnest. The winner was Uncle Whit. This lady on the left, Janice, is almost 9 she made it to top 3. There are pictures of the adults as kids doing the same thing 20 or more years ago. I'm thankful the tradition lives on.
Harold helping Bruce have a turn.
We reconvened back at grandmas for an impromptu hair braiding session. There's a lot of long hair in the family and that's kinda fun to play with.
We are thankful for the many hands who made delicious food. We were impressed with the spirit of Love and peace that attended the day. We are thankful for family and the effort made to get here. Thank goodness the travel mostly happened before the snow. We had a great time being together and sharing in traditions and memories that have been around for a long time in this family. Each family bring a little bit of new and that is good.
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